Filter Arrangement With Tangential Rinsing And Vacuum Suction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mechanical particle filters face inefficiencies in removing particles from fluids while retaining them in the smallest volume possible, especially when dealing with bacteria, and often hydrophilic membranes become barriers to air after wetting, hindering suction efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A filter arrangement utilizing dual inlets for elution and vacuum, with check valves and stopcock valves to manage fluid paths, allowing for reduced fluid volume and enhanced suction by using a polycarbonate-type filter with 0.4 micron pores, and employing a wet foam to resuspend microorganisms for efficient particle collection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If backwashing process is used to remove particles from filter, then particles are removed from filter, but fluid volume becomes excessive and retention efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using backwashing to remove particles from the filter membrane, the invention inverts the approach by using vacuum suction on the downstream side to draw fluid and particles through the membrane, allowing particles to be collected in minimal fluid without compromising retention efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the operating parameters by applying vacuum pressure differential across the membrane, transitioning from pressure-driven backwashing to suction-driven filtration, which enables particle collection in reduced fluid volume while maintaining high retention ratios
2Measurement precision
If hydrophilic membrane with small pore size is used, then filtration precision is improved, but membrane becomes barrier to air after wetting
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the air passage function from the hydrophilic membrane by providing dedicated air inlet ports that bypass the membrane, allowing air to enter the chamber without passing through the wetted membrane pores, thus eliminating the barrier effect while maintaining filtration precision
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces air inlet ports as intermediary pathways that mediate between the need for precise filtration through small pore membranes and the need for air passage, allowing air to access the chamber through alternative routes that do not compromise membrane integrity or filtration performance
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution significantly reduces the volume of fluid required for particle analysis, maintains high retention efficiency, and allows for improved suction by preventing membrane blockage, enabling effective extraction and analysis of particles like bacteria.
Implementation Method 1
a filter element positioned between the top element and the bottom element and overlapping with the channels. The top element inlet is connected to a fluid/particle supply... such that oversized particles are retained on the filter element
Implementation Method 2
The bottom element outlet is connected to a suction supply... such that the fluid/particle mixture is introduced through the top element inlet into the channel and over the filter element
Implementation Method 3
the elution fluid is introduced into the top element inlet into the channel and over the filter element such that the retained particles deposited upon the filter element are tangentially rinsed and collected
Data Source
AI summary
A filter arrangement with a top element and a bottom element and a filter element therebetween captures oversized particles on the upper surface of the filter element and tangentially rinses these particles using an elution fluid to provide a concentration of particles in a relatively low volume of fluid for further analysis. In an intermediate step, the particles captured by the filter may be rinsed with a rinsing fluid such as water to pass additional undersized particles through the filter, thereby providing a purer sample. To improve efficiency, check valves may be used for passageways with one-way flow. Additionally, a configuration of three-way stopcocks may also be utilized. Finally, a sandwich arrangement is possible, wherein a single bottom element is sandwiched between two opposing top elements.